Chennai: With Tamil Nadu MPs insisting that
India make its stand clear on the US-sponsored resolution
against Sri Lanka in UNHRC, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has
said efforts are on to achieve a "forward-looking" outcome
which would avoid "deepening confrontation and mistrust."

"We are engaged with all parties in an effort to achieve an
outcome that is forward-looking and that ensures that rather
than deepening confrontation and mistrust between concerned
parties, a way forward is found on issues related to
accountability and reconciliation," Singh told DMK chief M
Karunanidhi.

In a letter to the DMK leader, who demanded that India
support the US resolution against Colombo for alleged war
crimes during voting, Singh said India`s objective, as always,
remains the achievement of a future for the Tamil community in
Sri Lanka marked by equality, dignity, justice and
self-respect.

Noting that India had emphasised to Sri Lanka the
importance of a genuine process of reconciliation to address
grievances of Tamils, he said New Delhi welcomed the report of
Sri Lankan Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Committee (LLRC).

India believed implementation of the LLRC recommendations
would contribute to the process of reconciliation, he added.

"We have also emphasised the need for an independent and
credible mechanism to investigate allegations of human rights
violations in a time-bound manner, which has also been
recommended by LLRC. Our focus on these issues with the
Government of Sri Lanka will continue," Singh said.

The Prime Minister informed Karunanidhi that India attaches
"high priority" to the safety, prosperity and well-being of
the Tamil community in Sri Lanka and has consistently drawn
Colombo`s attention to the need for a political settlement
since the end of the internal conflict in 2009.

"In our engagement with the Government of Sri Lanka, we
have urged it to put in place a process of resettlement,
rehabilitation and reconstruction, including early return of
all internally displaced persons to their respective
habitats," he said.

India had also urged Sri Lanka for early withdrawal of
emergency regulations, investigations into alleged human
rights violations, restoration of normalcy in affected areas
and redress of humanitarian concerns of all affected families,
Singh said.

"We have offered our technical, economical and financial
assistance to aid this process. I would like to underline that
it is as a result of our engagement with the Government of
Sri Lanka and our considerable assistance programme that a
modicum of normalcy is beginning to return to the Tamil
areas in Sri Lanka," the Prime Minister said.
India has implemented and continues to do so a wide range
of projects covering housing, education, health, vocational
training, agriculture and reconstruction of infrastructure,
Singh noted.

"There has also been progress in the areas of withdrawal of
emergency regulations and the conduct of local body elections
in the northern province of Sri Lanka. We intend to remain
engaged with the Government of Sri Lanka in order to take this
process forward," he added.